'Like grain before the reaper' - Gettysburg

The last final charge uphill stands beyond the second of two fences along the Emmitsburg Road crossed by Confederates in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. "We opened on them and they fell like grain before the reaper," wrote a soldier of the 12th New Jersey in a letter home shortly following the Union victory. (Click image for larger view.)

The First Massachusetts - Gettysburg

The monument to the First Massachusetts stands on the Union line temporarily held along the Emmitsburg Road during the fighting of the second day. The men here skirmished most of the day with their Confederate counterparts before the massive rebel attacks broke the thinly held line and sent the survivors of Union Major General Daniel Sickles' Third Corps in retreat to safety on a bolstered line on Cemetery Ridge. (Click image for larger view).

The Fence on the Emmitsburg Road

A simple, stout wood fence along the Emmitsburg Road marks a transition point faced by Confederates in the ill-fated Pickett's Charge. Once pushing past the road, there was nothing between the onrushing rebels and the waiting Yankees at the low crest save for open terrain and deadly close-range fire. 145 years ago today thousands of Confederates crossed this point in the Charge. The lucky ones would pass over or around the fence again in retreat to safety on Seminary Ridge (at rear). The Rebel invasion of Pennsylvania was over. Escaping back South with his remaining army intact was now the goal of Lee's plans. There would be no further large scale invasions of the North, and the long path to Appomattox continued. (Click image for larger view).